Bali Festivals a Treat for You

Do not leave Bali and your comfortable hotel without having witnessed Bali festivals; they are unique to this island of the gods. Go and watch at least one of the popular dances either Barong or Ketjak that are performed for tourists and show authentic Balinese religion and culture.

Here is the List of Amazing and Unique Bali Festivals

Nyepi, Day of Silence or Bali Day

06-03-2019, Day before Nyepi: The local youth groups have been working for weeks on creating giants that will be let loose and carried with great noise through cities and villages.the night before the day of silence. By the next day, Nyepi, it is expected that the Ogho-Ogho giants and noise have confused and scared away bad spirits and the silence this day will make sure they will not return to Bali.

07-03-2019, Hari Raya Nyepi: From 06:00 in the morning until 06:00 the next morning Balinese do not engage in any activity and the island is quiet, there are no sounds, nobody ventures outside their dwellings, there is no electricity, internet, entertainment etc. The Balinese engage in quiet introspection and meditation.

Tourists: inside their hotels, the guests are allowed to stay at the swimming pool (not at the beach), there is cooked food available in the hotel restaurants. There will be no flights to or from Bali, no excursions and no strolls outside the hotels. The streets are guarded by special religious guards.

08-03-2019, Ngembak Geni: Day after Nyepi, Balinese are engaging again in their regular daily routine. They start this new segment by first visiting family and relatives to ask for forgiveness for their missteps and start anew. Some shops will be closed; some open and special stalls will be set up along beaches and popular spots.

Omed-Omedan, 'festival of Splashes and Smooches' after Nyepi exclusive at Banjar Kaja, Sesetan village, Denpasar. This is a fun way to end the Nyepi celebrations. The inhabitants of Banjar Keja especially the unmarried youth 17-30 years old started it. The highlight of this celebration is when the boys stand on one side of the village thoroughfare and the girls on the other. The boys omed-omedan pull the girls towards them and kiss them while villagers pour water over them. Some of these kissing couples actually end up getting married and live happily ever after.

18-08-2018 / 16-03-2019, Tumpek Kandang: This is a special Bali festivals for pets and farm animals. The God Rare Angon is supplicated to keep them healthy, safe.

22-09-2018 / 20-04-2019, Tumpek Wayang: his celebration is especially dedicated to the arts and Wayang or Shadow puppets in particular. There will be shadow puppet performances in specific places.

13-10-2018 / 11-05-2019, Hari Raya Saraswati: This day is dedicated to Lord Sang Hyang Aji Sawaswati, to celebrate the gift

Bali Hotel Choices

During Nyepi, you best choose a hotel with plenty of amenities so that you do not get bored since you cannot go out, not even to the beach.

For ceremonies like Galungan und Kuningan you will see and experience more if you stay away from Kuta, Jimbaran, Nusa Dua, and Sanur. Those ceremonies are beautiful and best observed in villages. The very unique cremation ceremonies are difficult and rare to see but usually, the Balinese have no objection to tourist, as long as you are dressed appropriately.

There are plenty of Bali beach hotels in Sanur, Legian, Seminyak, Jimbaran, Nusa Dua, Benoa and also on smaller beaches to the north. On this page though, let’s start where it all started; with the Ba…